World news – USA – Sophia Loren returns to cinema: « I am a perfectionist »

The star, now 86, was looking for a personal connection with a text. Then came her director son and Netflix drama The Life Ahead.

The question was raised by « The Life Ahead », a Netflix drama premiering on Friday and starring the once great Italian superstar who was a global glamor.. As it happens, her first movie since a TV movie 10 years ago combines her passion for the movie with the other great passion of her life, her family.. Lauren, 86, has always prioritized them over her acting career, but with the new drama, she combines both loves: The film’s co-writer and director is Eduardo Ponte, her youngest son..

In « The Life Ahead », Lauren’s third collaboration with Ponte, she plays an Italian Holocaust survivor known as Madame Rosa who receives and eventually collaborates with the Senegalese orphan Momo (Brahima Gui).

The film’s message of tolerance brought back her acting role, but this need for a personal connection to her work also made her selective about the projects, she said, speaking in rusty English. While Oscar winner Lauren continued to influence contemporary pop culture (« Zoo Be Zoo Be Zoo, » her pop song « Zou Bisou » was covered in « Mad Men, » a show she did not see) , She said she didn’t feel pressured to chase every direction.

In a phone interview from her home in Geneva, Lauren spoke about aging gracefully, taking directions from her son and some of her favorite roles. Edited excerpts from the conversation follow.

I started making fewer movies by 1980, seven years after Eduardo was born and 12 years after Carlo Jr.. , Brother. Why slowed down?

At the time, I asked myself, « What do you want out of life, Sophia? » I said, « I want a nice family, » which is what I had. « I want two kids » that I had. “But I never saw them. And I thought to myself, « From now on, maybe I’ll slow down a little. ». « But I didn’t slow down a little: I simply no longer worked. Not because I did not like to work; I wanted to know more about my family, because I often lived in the studio. I really surprised myself by saying, « Sophia, you’d better stop acting for now, and go on later. ». “I stopped making movies for a long time but I was so happy that I saw my kids grow up, get married, and have children.. [Carlo Ponti, her husband of 50 years, passed away in 2007. ]

I still receive many texts, but no one has spoken to me like they did in « The Life Ahead ». That’s why I haven’t worked for about 10 years. I wanted to find a role that really inspires and challenges me. Mrs. Rosa was that character, not only because of her different and sometimes conflicting feelings, but also for the film’s message of tolerance, love and inclusion..

You sometimes describe yourself as a « perfectionist, » and since « The Life Ahead » is your third collaboration with Edoardo: Is it getting easier to take guidance from your kid?

I’m a perfectionist, but it is. Edoardo gives me security. He also never gives up until I give him my best. He settles for nothing less than that, and he knows exactly which buttons to press to get something out of me. When Eduardo said « this is it » after we shot a scene, I know my performance is exactly what he was waiting for. It feels great for the actress, because you are sure of what you do.

De Sica taught me to be true to myself and to follow my instincts, not direction. Easier said than done, but it matters. I was 17 years old when I met De Sica. [She would later work with him in the movie Napoli Gold, 1954, the first of several collaborations. ] To interview De Sica- He was a saint to me, the greatest director in the world. And he wanted to see me: “Oh, you are from Naples. I have something for you. « This is how I started my film career, with Vittorio de Sica.

How important is it to work with filmmakers with whom you have a personal relationship, whether in real life or watching their films?

Well, that wasn’t possible when I started making movies in America. Working with great American actors was a wonderful school for me, but it was also a completely foreign experience. I worked with Cary Grant and Frank Sinatra [in The Pride and the Passion, 1957] when I was 22 years old, and still a kid.. At the time, I saw the possibilities that came with working in English, even corrupt English, because it wasn’t my language. But the talking voice and music are very dear to me, and I immediately learned English. I had a great time when I made my debut American movies. I did « Desire Under the Elms, » « Houseboat » – I don’t remember them all.

The role should feel personal, because you do your best when you feel the role in your own bones.

In your diary, Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow, you describe your acting career as « a wonderful season for Italian cinema that I had the honor to try first hand. ». “Are contemporary Italian films and filmmakers not of much interest to you?

I no longer watch many movies or series, but I have to say that the work of Matteo Garrone and Paolo Sorrentino is a pleasure to watch, both of them are from Naples!

She did some voice acting in 2011, playing the voice of Mama Topolino for the Italian dub of « Cars 2 ». How was that?

I haven’t seen many animated films so I didn’t know what to expect from the role, but I have to say that « Cars 2 » is one of my grandchildren’s favorite movies.

Of course I am. I don’t go to church, but I do believe in God. I pray at home.

You said you really like Daniel Day-Lewis, with whom you starred in « Nine. ». “Now that you have retired, who are your favorite contemporary actresses or actresses?

I still love it very much, regardless of whether it works again or not! He is an amazing actor and always attractive. I also love Meryl Streep! She is a great actress.

There is nothing you can say. If you decide to be an actress, because it is something you love, then you should do what your mind teaches you, to put yourself in a situation that you only think about in your life as an actress.. Then you will see if you are getting married or not. Life is not just one thing. It’s a lot of things, and sometimes a lot of things together.

I tend to judge myself very harshly, so I better not watch my movies right away. Sometimes I do that, out of curiosity, if one of my movies is on TV, or maybe with my kids, maybe because they haven’t seen the films I made long ago.. And sometimes, so many years have passed that watching myself is like discovering a completely different person. This is an enjoyable experience. I love that.

My role in « Two Women » means a lot to me [I won an Oscar in 1962 for this movie De Sica in which I played a single mother fighting during World War II], but also the role that I played on « Special Day » [as A housewife becomes more sympathetic after learning that her neighbor is gay]. It all depends on the story, and on the perfection of great directors like De Sica. I loved working with him as well as the films I made with Marcelo Mastroianni.

Sophia Loren, Eduardo Ponte, Netflix, Madame Rosa